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Britain
:This country is a part of Altverse. : Cymanwlad y Gwladwriaethau Sosialaidd Prydeinig |name = Britannia |image_flag = Union Flag (including Wales).svg.png |image_coat = 600px-Coat of Arms of the Protectorate (1653–1659).svg.png |common_name = Commonwealth of Albion |national_motto = Strength to the People |national_anthem = O' Britannia, the Peoples land! |image_map = Great Britain (orthographic projection).svg.png |map_caption = Location of Britain |capital = London |capital_type = Capital and largest city |latd = 51 |latm = 30 |latNS = N |longd = 0 |longm = 7 |longEW = W |official_languages = |regional_languages = , , , , |ethnic_groups = |demonym = British |government_type = |leader_title1 = Paramount Leader |leader_name1 = Robert Matthews |leader_title2 = Prime Minister |leader_name2 = Eric Victor |legislature = Parliament |upper_house = House of State |lower_house = House of the People ||established_event1 = Acts of Union 1699 |established_date1 = May 1st, 1699 |established_event2 = Workers Revolution |established_date2 = 7th January 1981- 18st January 1980 |established_event3 = Socialist Manifesto of the Commonwealth |established_date3 = 12th September 1989 |area_km2 = 189395 |area_rank = 83rd |area_sq_mi = 84,127 |GDP_nominal = $2.449 trillion |GDP_nominal_year = 2013 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $18,994 |Gini = 28.9 |Gini_category = low |HDI = 0.899 |HDI_year = 2014 |HDI_category = very high |HDI_rank = 11th |currency = |currency_code = £ |time_zone = |utc_offset = +0 |utc_offset_DST = +1 |time_zone_DST = |date_format = dd/mm/yyyy (AD) |population_estimate = 57,800,000 |population_estimate_year = 2015 |drives_on = left |cctld = .gb |calling_code = +44 |patron_saint = (England) (Scotland) (Wales)}} The Commonwealth of Socialist British States more commonly known as Britannia, is a sovereign state consisting of the three countries on the isle of , those being England, Scotland, and Wales as well as several smaller islands along with fifteen overseas territories. One special administrative regions exist within the Commonwealth, that being the . It sole boarder is with Westland to the south, otherwise being surrounded by the , although it is in close proximity with the . The relationships among the countries of the Commonwealth have changed over time. In 927 the unification of Wessex, Kent and Sussex created the Kingdom of Westland. Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of Albion in 1543. In 1699 Albion, Caledonia and Gaul unified as Albion-Gaul becoming the worlds dominant imperialist power. The Gaulish revolution and the Napoleonic wars meant that Albish sovereignty lessened substantially over Gaul in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. In 1922 Ireland rebelled against Albish rule forming the Republic of Ireland. In 1918 following the First World War the prime minister of Albion-Gaul, Georges Clemenceau, successfully enabled Gaul to secede from the Union creating the Kingdom of Gaul in its place. Britannia as a Commonwealth was officially established after a socialist revolution swept through Albion due to the policies of Margaret Thatcher. Unlike the Marxist-Leninist governments of the Eastern Bloc Britannia implemented an economic system comparable to that of Yugoslavia with government owned companies primarily being managed at lower levels, opening up to a state of . Currently Britannia is subject to an . Britannia is ranked as a as well as being a having a large economy. Once possessing an empire covering a quarter of the globe Britannia has a large influence with its language and culture prevalent around the world. Britannia whilst no longer the superpower it was in the 19th century is still one of the most powerful nations politically, culturally, scientifically, militarily, and economically. It is part of the League of Nations currently holding a permanent seat on the security council s well as being a leading member of , the , , , , , and the IOSS. Etymology Britannia comes from the Roman occupation of the island, deriving from the Greek words Prettanike or Brettaniai, and the term used to describe the natives of the islands (Britons). Until 1982 however the island was known as Albion as was its largest country (now England) after its name was forcibly changed by following the . The countries name was changed in 1982 when a ruling committee decreed that the nation should be called Britannia and that Caledonia and Albion the country should change their names to Scotland and England respectively. Nationalists and opponents of the socialist government refuse to accept this name change seeing it as being undemocratic and imposed upon the country by a dictator, using Albion instead. History Norman Invasion (1066) In 1066 the kingdom of Albion was ruled by Saxon king Harold Godwinson ruled over the Kingdom of Albion and Westland, but his rule was challenged by the Gaulish nobleman William of Normandy and Norwegian king Harald Hardrada. William was reportedly promised the throne by Godwinsons predecessor Edward the Confessor while Hardrada humiliated after his failed defeats in his wars with the Danish sought to expand his kingdom further. Hardrada landed first into the northern regions of Albion quickly overrunning York. Godwinson marched his army quickly to York, catching the Vikings by surprise and massacring them all including Hardrada. It was then did William attack the south of the kingdom of Westland from the cliffs of Dover, before facing staunch resistance. Godwinson then offered William a concordant - that William be granted sovereignty of the lands of Albion and Harold of Westland. William agreed, with Normans soon overrunning the northern regions of Albion while many Saxons fled to Westland. Medieval period Albish Civil War (1629-1651) The events that inspired the later socialist revolution of Britannia was the . Prior to war reigning Albish king had caused a rift to form between him and the Albish parliament. This rift was caused partly by Charles belief in the that granted him complete control of Albion and Caledonia in lieu of parliament (a view imposed onto him by his father ). Charles also caused controversy due to his alleged Roman Catholic beliefs, with the Church of Albion being the state religion. Relationships between the two parties became worse as Charles dissolved parliament from 1629-1640 in a period known as "Eleven years of Tyranny". Although Charles was able to broker peace with both the Kingdom of Gaul and the Kingdom of Spain the Crown's debts were still to large for the king to pay off with parliament refusing to give any of their revenue towards him. After facing a rebellion in Caledonia after failing to create a uniform British church Charles reformed parliament, but quickly dissolved it again after they refused to invade Caledonia. This invasion failed with the Caledonia instead pushing into English boarders. Unable to raise funds to supply the Albion army Charles reformed parliament. This parliament started to question Charles legitimacy as a ruler, and accused Charles of supporting Irish Catholic insurgents in Ireland, as well as stating many nobles of being guilty of treason. After an unsuccessful attempt to arrest five members of parliament Charles fled from London to the north of Albion. This soon led to the country becoming divided as areas of Albion proclaimed themselves as either allies to parliament (Parliamentarians) or loyal to Charles (Royalists). The early stages of the war went well for Royalist forces, but by 1643 thanks to the leadership of , and (especially the latters during the First Battle of Newbury) the Parliamentarians were able to gain the advantage. In 1647 Charles was handed to parliament by the Caledonians where he was placed under house arrest. Aside from a new minor Royalist uprisings parliament had effective control of Albion, with its dominant leader being Oliver Cromwell, who formed the Rump parliament in an effective military coup to cement Parliamentarian control over Albion. Charles was put on trial for treason, with Charles being executed by beheading on the 30th January 1649, with the monarchy being effectively abolished and the war ending. The Rump Parliament established an English Republic under the Council of State, abolishing the House of Lords. Charles son Charles II however managed to escape to the Netherlands. Ireland was subjected to harsh treatment by the army with Cromwell ordering the massacre of many Irish Catholics, and eventually ending the Irish Catholic Confederation putting Ireland under British control. The Protectorate (1653-1701) In 1653 the Rump parliament was dissolved under the orders of Cromwell who along with John Lambert drafted the Instrument of Government which vested executive power in the hands of a Lord Protector, a semi elective monarch. Cromwell was appointed as Lord Protector, and declared Albion would now be known as the "Commonwealth of Albion, Caledonia and Ireland". Power was further vested in the hands of the New Model Army who effectively controlled the government. In 1652 dispute between Albion and Dutch territory in the East Indies brought along the Anglo-Dutch war. The Commonwealth scored a decisive victory, with Cromwell able to broker a peace treaty between the Commonwealth and the Dutch Republic. As well as this Cromwell engaged in the Anglo-Spanish War in 1654. Cromwell died in 1658, naming his successor as his son . As Cromwell did not command the same respect his father did both among parliament and the army the state almost collapsed before the return of to Albion in a period known as the Restoration. Although the Commonwealth of Albion had been a failure it served as a direct inspiration for the socialist revolution 300 years later. Unification with Gaul (1685-1699) During the reign of Gaulish King Louis XIV he started to marry off members of the Gaulish royal family to neighbouring states in an attempt to improve the standing of Gaul among these states. The Duchy of Burgundy, an ally of both the Kingdom of Gaul and the Kingdom of Albion (who were fierce rivals), was poised to be the next state Louis intended to forge a more permanent alliance with. As Gaul could offer more economic and military aid to Burgundy then Albion, the King of Albion, James II, was loathe to lose such an ally. James personally renounced his previous Catholic beliefs in favour of protestant ones to gain support from the Albish parliament who then allowed him to order a blockade around Gaul in an effort to halt Gaulish expansion. Rather then deter Louis, the Gaulish king instead endeavoured to forcibly take the Albish throne by force, and ordered his fleet to mobilise. In response James had his military generals rally the armies of Albion. The Royal army was a well equipped fighting force, trained to a high standard and fed well. Louis although aware of this sent a small force to attack the Albish isles, and was swiftly repelled as a result. James ordered the full force of his armies to take Gaul, smashing through Louis's navy in the first Battle of the Channel and landing in Calais. Louis had his forces meet the Albish army, thinking he would be able to push them off of the nation with support from Burgundy However, Burgundy proved loyal to Albion, with Grand Duke Charles II of Burgundy giving munitions and supplies to Albish forces. The Grand Duke reasoned that Burgundys strong ties to Albion, and his own hesitation regarding a royal marriage between Gaul and Burgundy spurred him into allying with Albion. The state of Catalonia also gave support to Albion, as did the Netherlands, which were keen to remove Gaul as an imperial power. On November 13th, 1687, Paris was taken and the royal family imprisoned. Louis's firstborn son was appointed as Prince Louis XV of Gaul. Shortly after the invasion of Gaul James died, with his son James III crowned as king of Albion. James III formally unified Albion, Caledonia and Gaul together under the 1699 Act of Union. Louis became Duke of Gaul, and James III the king of Albion, Caledonia, Ireland and Gaul. Louis pardoned his father in what was seen as a controversial decision - however the deposed king spent the rest of his life in peace on the island of Corsica. The fall of Gaul was seen as a challenge to the balance of power in Europe - however Philip V of Spain (also related to the Gaulish royal family) managed to establish Spain as Gaul's successor and Albion-Gaul's chief rival. Gaulish revolution (1789-1799) In 1789 anger over the Albish rule began to arise in Gaul. In particular, the harsh almost dictatorial rule of the Albish governors and the erosion of Gaulish culture coupled with the financial neglect of Gaulish citizens caused mass civil unrest and hatred towards the aristocracy and clergy. The Gaulish public on the 14th July 1789 stormed the Gaulish prison known as the Bastille, soon overthrowing much of the ruling aristocracy. Feudalism was abolished and the first form of human rights, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, was formulated. Eventually Gaulish Prince Louis XVI was executed. Under the newly proclaimed republic Gaul conquered large parts of Europe much to the alarm of the Albish government. Albion rather then intervene however sought to consolidate its own forces. In 1793 the radical Jacobite movement lead by Maximilien de Robespierre took over the government, instigating the "Period of Terror". After Robespierre's death a coup covertly funded by Albion appointed military general Napoleon Bonaparte. The Albish hoped Napoleon would re-create the union of Albion and Gaul once again, but instead he formed the first Gaulish empire. The Socialist revolution (1980-1981) :Main article: Britannian Socialist Revolution Britannia'a revolution came about due to the policies of Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher privatised much of Britannia's industry, causing widespread poverty and anger towards the government. This formed many left wing movements in the working class area's Albion, with the two most prominent being the Labour Party and the Worker's party. Labour were led by newly appointed leader Leopold Marsden, and his deputies Callum Baker and Annabell Wilbur, and the Worker's by Thomas Raply, and Dominic Constable. While the Worker's were orthodox Marxists, the Labour party departed from their previous position of Democratic Socialists instead emphasising a form of Christian socialism. Most historians agree that Marsden, Baker, Wilbur, Raply, and Constable were the main figures in the Socialist revolution. In December 1980 Thatcher announced her intentions to organise a poll tax. This provoked outrage from the working class of Britannia, and upon this announcement the main branch of the Worker's party and the entire Labour party merged to form the People's Party of Britannia. In league with unions the party began to order strikes across the whole of Britannia, with protests starting in Manchester. On the 7th January both the North and South regions of Albion were thrown into chaos as workers began to use violence. Wales soon declared itself to be the "Socialist State of Wales" after Workers leader Dominic Constable led armed workers into the administrative centre Cardiff. In response to this Thatcher was able to pass the "Working Patriot Act" a day later which required all working class men to sign up for the army, in hope of deploying men to pacify the workers in the west, with intense fighting soon breaking out on the Welsh boarder between what were deemed socialist terrorists and government forces. Opposition to the Working Patriots Act as well as the violence in the west of the country caused Caledonian workers in Strathclyde, Lothian and Grampian to organise strikes. In less then two days the north and west side of Caledonia were proclaiming themselves as a socialist state, with the eastern regions still being administrated by the government. Thatcher against the advice of parliament, initiated emergency powers, granting her complete control over the nation. The declaration of Caledonia becoming a socialist state soon led to further uprisings in the North East, Yorkshire and the East Midlands. Workers led an armed revolt through the capital London on the 12st January 1981, with Buckingham palace being destroyed in the revolts. Thatcher and her government relocated to Cambridge, and the Royal family were flown to Canada. The western world including America realised too late that the fighting in Britain would not subside as had been previously expected, with much of Thatchers government beginning to defect over to the socialists in fear of their lives. Only the Eastern region of Albion was still being under the governments control. In London the People's Party started to coordinate the revolutionaries through a collective leadership of Marsden, Raply, Baker, and Wilbur. On the 14th January 1981 Thatcher was ousted from her position by John Major in a bloodless coup, with Thatcher fleeing to the Isle of Man. On the 16th January the army officially declared its loyalty to the socialists. Major soon began peace talks with Marsden, and on the 18th January 1981 the United Kingdom was disbanded with the Commonwealth of Britannia established in its place. Marsden took over as the Prime Minister of the transitional government, also naming himself president for life. The royal family fled to Canada whereas Thatcher was captured and imprisoned shortly afterwards, spending the rest of her life in incarceration. The Transitional period (1981-1989) After the Socialist revolution the newly appointed government began to strengthen its power. The biggest problem the socialists faced were the reforms to the economy touted so readily by the People's Party. The Workers argued that the proletarian should control the means of production, while the Labour Party stated that the party should instead. Marsden called for a vote, where the decision in parliament concluded that the party should own the means of production. Shortly after this vote some of the top Workers leaders - including Raply - were arrested and executed on charges of treason. Constable was placed under house arrest in Wales. Loyal followers of the Labour party were installed into power in their place. In 1981 the name of Albion was removed with the official name of the country being changed to Britannia - Albion the country was also renamed as England and Caledonia as Scotland. The Socialist Revolution spurred the Argentinian military junta government to invade the Falkland Islands. In response Marsden ordered conscription across Britannia, in order to gain a quick victory over Argentina as well as show off the military might of Britannia. The war famously lasted for under 3 months with British forces ousting the Argentinian forces from the islands. In order to prevent further Argentinian action Britannia installed a puppet communist government in the islands thus creating the Falklandic People's Socialist Republic. Marsden then had the business and land owners of Britannia arrested, with them all being offered to go to prison or hand over their assets to the government. Many had no choice but to comply by these demands. A large number of business/land owners had been killed in the revolution - their property were automatically given to the government. The government then ordered to put forward the Marsden plan, that demanded that Britannia would invest in mass industrialisation to fix its failing economy. Young men were required to work in Britannia's factories and coal mines. Despite this Marsden granted the City of London and Brittannia's overseas territory of Hong Kong "special administrative status", modelled after China's capitalist zones. In this period Marsden had all political parties save the People's Party abolished to facilitate these changes. Marsden centralised much power into his own hands, and had the (MI5) monitor the populace extensively. Britannia's relations with the west dramatically worsened - its trade links with the started to dissipate, with its membership compromised. General Secretary of the clearly placed little interest in the affairs of Britannia refusing to have any sort of new dialogue between the two states. Britannia began a policy of semi-isolation, focusing on its economy, although it was able to retain its seat on the LN security council. Reforms (1989-2000) In 1989 Leopold Marsden died of a heart attack caused by smoking. Almost immediately his primary protégé Callum Baker took power as president, but his grip on power was severely weakened by calls for democracy. In Yorkshire riots erupted in protest of the socialist governments monopoly of power, spurred on by similar movements in the Eastern Bloc. To combat this Prime Minister Robert Matthews led a military-backed coup ousting Baker from power, and appointing himself Paramount Leader of the Commonwealth. With the help of the Council of State Matthews drafted the Socialist Manifesto of Britannia - the new supreme law of the country that legalised multiple political parties. Matthews also released many political prisoners including Dominic Constable. On the 12th September 1989 the Socialist Manifesto was signed, with the first elections in Britannia taking place in the summer of 1990. The newly formed People's Party under the leadership of Annabel Wilbur managed to win a majority in parliament. Britannia also opened its boarders to immigration and began peace talks with the United States and the USSR. The signing of the Socialist Manifesto was seen in Britain as "the revival of democracy" with Matthews listed as the 'Times Person'' of the Year for 1991. With the collapse of the USSR Britannia began a more vibrant trading relationship with America, the EU and Russia. Britannia experienced significant economic growth under the Wilbur ministry. In the 1995 elections the People's Party again under Wilbur managed to win a majority. Wilbur oversaw the devolution of England, Scotland and Wales. Further economic growth accompanied this, with the 1990's being recognised as the "Golden Age" of the Commonwealth. Modern Britannia (2000-present) The 2000 elections saw the People's Party under new leader Ryan Golding winning a majority in parliament despite several members of the People's Party being accused of embezzlement. In 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks Golding under pressure from parliament formally negotiated the re-joining of to assist in the War on Terror with the United States, deploying troops into Afghanistan soon after. In 2003 Golding bypassed parliament to support the US George Bush government in the invasion of Iraq, despite heavy opposition from his own party. The ESP reputation reached an all time nadir after the 2005 July bombings. In the 2005 elections the People's Party under Golding managed a narrow victory, despite voter turnout being low. In their initial years the People's Party continued to facilitate economic growth. However the Great Recession in 2008 caused the economy to contract, with the pound starling losing a fraction of its value, and import prices rising. Golding resigned leaving his deputy Hugh Byrne to become prime minister. The 2010 elections resulted in the first hung parliament in 70 years with the People's Party forming a coalition with the Green Party with People's Party Secretary-General Hugh Byrne becoming prime minister and Green's leader John Raaj serving as his deputy. Since then the economy has started to recover. The armed forces participated in the LN intervention during the Libyan civil war in 2011. Rioting in 2011 also took place around the country with 6 people killed. The People's Party also managed to legalise between couples in Britannia. In 2014 Britannia supported the United Socialist Commonwealth during the Oceania Civil War, and currently refuses to see the United Commonwealth as the legitimate government of Oceania. Britannia along with the US and Sierra also was one of the main advocates of the LNSC reform, and have provided military aid to the Kurdish government in the 2014 Kurdish-Islamic Conflict as well as supporting the Flemish People's Republic in the Flemish Revolution. In 2015 general elections were held in Britannia. The elections saw the People's Party voted out of government with the Communist party led by Eric Victor take power. Victor enacted new economic reforms that have seen greater state intervention and central planning within Britannia. Countries and administrative divisions There are three countries in the Commonwealth of Britannia - England, Wales and Scotland. England is the largest of countries and also contains the de facto capital and largest city of Britain, London within it, where the Houses of Parliament (the seat of government) is located. The People's Assembly of England is also located in London. Scotland is the second largest country in Britain, with its capital being Edinburgh. Wales is located to the west of Britain, with Cardiff being its capital. There is one special administrative region within the Commonwealth; the City of London, which is located in England. Although the subject to British laws they enjoy a limited degree of autonomy. There are fifteen overseas territories of Britannia. These territories are officially governed by Parliament and are subject to Parliaments law. Some (such as Gibraltar) function as special economic zones in a similar manner to the City of London. Britannia also has three state dependencies. Whilst they are not independent nations they are responsible for maintaining their own governments that decide on all but foreign relations which are handled by the central government in London. As such they have been largely restructured following the socialist revolutions to act as deregulated capitalist zones similar to the City of London. Politics Britannia officially maintains a , with the supreme law of Britannia being the Socialist Manifesto of the Commonwealth of Britain. The head of state is the Paramount Leader who enjoys limited power and appointed by the Council of State. The Head of Government is the prime minister, who is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons. Using a , the Commonwealth maintain two houses's: the House of State ( ) and the House of the People ( ). Traditionally members of the House of State are elected by the Paramount Leader from the ranks of the military. The House of the People meanwhile is made up of a representative of each constituency in Britannia, who is elected democratically. The party with the most members in the House of the People is the incumbent government, with the leader of the party being the Prime Minister. Currently theCommunist Party of Britannia holds a majority government with CPB's leader Eric Victor being prime minister. Multiple political parties are allowed in the Commonwealth, but have to use a socialist economy according to the Manifesto. Despite this the People's Party and the CPB have remained the dominant parties in Britannia since 1990. The Council of State is the main executive body of Britannia with members being appointed by the Paramount Leader from a list of candidates presented to him by the Prime Minister. The Council is made up of a cabinet of ministers who have control over various functions (eg. education, defence, foreign affairs, etc). The Paramount Leader possesses a limited amount of power as head of state. He can declare war, appoint ministers, dissolve parliament and amend laws. The Paramount Leader also functions as head of the military and of the Church of Albion. In times of war or what the Paramount Leader would deem an emergency he may override all protocols and become the Supreme ruler, having absolute control over Britain. The Paramount Leader is appointed by the Council of State, and retains his position for life unless he chooses to abdicate. Each of the four member countries have a devolved parliament who possess limited power over their respective countries. The Scottish, English and Welsh governments enjoy a great degree of autonomy with full legislative powers. However the central parliament can veto any law put forward by these devolved parliaments if they deemed unreasonable by a majority vote. Currently the Scottish government is headed by the Scottish nationalist party, and the English and the Welsh the CPB. The Special Administrative region of the City of London serves as one of the primary businesses centres on the planet, which serves as one of the only places where international companies can reside in Britain. Political Parties Major Parties *Communist Party of Britannia - An openly party formed shortly after the fall of the USSR. They are the current ruing party of Britannia holding a majority government in the House of Commons. Their leader is the current prime minister Eric Victor. *People's Party of the Commonwealth of Britannia - The People's Party holds the distinction of being the founding party of Britain, and has in the past often held a majority government. The Peoples Party is often associated with what has been come to be known as Marsdenism, a variant of pioneered by one of the founders of Britain Leopold Marsden. They currently are the opposition in Britannia with their Secretary-General Hugh Byrne serving as their leader. *Green Party - The Green's are currently the third largest party in Britannia. Traditionally the Green's often advocate and , as well as often possessing , and views. Minor Parties *Conservative Party of Britannia - Often considered to be one of the more notable right wing parties in Britannia the Conservative party often maintains several seats in the House of Commons, but has rarely been part of the government. The Conservative party has often advocated economic reform into a and socially conservative views, although their efforts to implement a mixed economy have almost always been halted by the Paramount Leader. *Scottish Nationalist Party - A Scottish party advocating Scottish independence. *The Communist Party of Wales - The Communist Party of Wales have traditionally held a place at the Welsh Assembly and are one of the oldest parties in Britannia. The CPW follow a ideology as well as also advocates of . It is led by Dominic Constable. *Strassonist Party of Britannia - A London based party that wishes Britannia to transition into a Strassonist state like Westland. It performed well in the 1990 elections but a successful smear campaign by the People's Party and the CPB has reduced their standing in elections. Banned parties *Union of Albish Nationalists - The UAN (a merger of the British Nationalist Party and British Independence Party) promote , and . They were banned in 2014 for being enemies of the People's Revolution. The UAN website states they are reformists who want to bring Britannia back into "the glory days of Thatcher". Law Foreign Relations Britannia maintains a policy of neutrality in international affairs, despite being a member of . It holds a permanent seat of the League of Nations security council, as well as being a member of the . It is also a , and nation. Britannia is also a key player in the , the International Order of Socialist States, and the . Britannia maintains good relations with most countries within the EU, with particularly good relations with the three other European powers - , and Gaul. Britannia also support ex-communist nations like , , , , and , within the EU. Britannia have friendly relations between Commonwealth nations, such as ] , , , and . Britannia maintains good relations with the majority of nations in the IOSS. In particular Britannia has full trade with opposing the US embargo and maintains amicable relations with Danguk, East Asia and . Despite substantial differences in their social policies Britannia has sought to attain good relations with Westland. Currently the two neighbour nations have vibrant trading relations, but Britannia's slow progress concerning LGBT+ rights has drawn the ire of Westlandic politicians. However reportedly Britannia's alleged support of the revolutionaries in the Flemish Revolution has led to some countries accusing Britannia and Westland as having a special relationship. Britannia also have good relations with observer states within IOSS such as Bulgaria, and . Britannia was a strong supporter of the presidency of , and retain close ties with . Britannia has maintained stable relations with the , Sierra, Gaul, and . Britannia retains heavy economic ties between all the nations, but has resolved to "neither support nor oppose any of the current world power". Many see Britannia's membership in NATO as a clear contradiction of this as well as their recent opposition to Russia during the 2014 Ukraine crisis. Military Britannia's armed forces are known as the British People's Armed Forces, and are divided into three branches - the People's Naval Services (split into the People's Marines and People's Navy) the People's Air Forces and the People's Army. The Ministry of Defence handles matters related to defence, with the Defence Council controlling the military directly. The Paramount Leader serves as the Commander in Chief of the military. Britannia is a nuclear weapons state, and maintains one of the most powerful military force on Earth with a defence budget of £45.4 billion (around $74.2 billion). National Service was renewed in 1985 and has since been a source of contention in British politics. Under British law all male and female citizens must apply for national service at the age of eighteen, unless they sign up to the armed forces at the age of 16. Conscientious objectors are drafted into non-combatant roles. Students may take study leave if they attend university, but must still eventually sign up for national service. National service usually lasts for 18 months. Britannia's nuclear program is known as the Trident Nuclear program and consists of four Vanguard-class submarines each armed with Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles. Britannia has the capability to fire thermonuclear weapons. One Trident submarine is always on active patrol around the world and its location disclosed; another is always nominally undergoing maintenance and the last two on training and naval excises. The first nuclear weapon (known as Operation Hurricane) launched by Britannia was a 25kt weapon detonated in 1952 on the Montebello Islands, West Australia. The current Trident program was started by Margaret Thatcher in 1980; it has been joked as the only positive aspect of her legacy. Geography Economy Demographics Religion The state religion of Britannia is the - however in practice Britannia has . 68.9% of people identify themselves as , 24.3% / , 4.4 , 1.3 , and 1.1% other faiths. is the only religion banned in Britannia, although the Freedom of Religion Act 1992 has rendered this ban to be largely ceremonial. Education Healthcare Britannia maintains a program centred around the state supported National Health Service (NHS). Spending on the NHS remains a government priority with all permanent citizens being registered to be treated at NHS facilities. Around 8.1% of the GDP is spent on NHS facilities and staff. A 2011 report saw Britannia ranked as fifth in terms of healthcare facilities by the World Health Organisation. General Practitioners (GP's) deal primarily in general healthcare, with hospitals being used to provide specialised treatments. Britannia has approximately 1 GP for every 250 people. Compared to other western nations both doctors and GP's are paid seemingly low wages. Life expectancy in Britannia numbers at 80.1 years for men and 83.5 for females. Culture Category:Nations Category:Commonwealth of Britain Category:Countries Category:Altverse